On the Edge of Seventeen
by Forsythia Lux
Summary: As Sakura’s fragile world is pulled apart by an illness she has plagued upon herself, she struggles to find her solace. [Eventually SasukexSakura] Rewritten
1. When I Fall Apart

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the copyrighted characters/things I may have mentioned in my story.

Rewritten/edited June 19th 2006

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On The Edge of Seventeen

Synopsis: As Sakura's fragile world is pulled apart by an illness she has plagued upon herself, she struggles to find her solace. (eventually SasuSaku)

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Chapter One: When I Fall Apart

"Do you _want_ to die?" It was her very first mission as an ANBU captain, and young kunoichi Haruno Sakura could feel the tip of her captor's kunai being pressed against her neck. Her attacker wreaked of blood, and as the more she thought about it, the sooner Sakura realized it was most likely her teammates. She wanted to cry, let out a simple wail, but Sakura was logical enough to know that wasn't possible, after all, the first rule of being a ninja is to show no emotion.

"No...at least not currently..." Swiftly kicking her adversary, Sakura regained her composure, taking charge of the situation.

"Well we all have those lies we tell ourselves." A smirk slowly made it's way across her attacker's face as she looked up at Sakura, waiting for her reaction.

As those few words seeped into Sakura's mind, her body became less tense and her battle stance faded. Memories flooded back to her, memories Sakura thought she had suppressed years ago.

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"Do you want to die?"

It was a frigid January morning, and of all the places to be, 17 year old Haruno Sakura found herself standing on the ledge of a bridge.

The river below had frozen over, which wasn't too uncommon for that particular season. The cherry blossom trees resplendently glowed as the sunrise reflected off the icicles that dangled from their branches. For most people, It was that magical time of year when time almost seemed to be at a stand-still, but for Sakura, it was suffocating.

Sakura turned around and observed the other person on the bridge. He was a tall, pale man who wore unfamiliar clothes. He clenched a sketchbook in his right hand, and withhis left hand he sketched rapidly. He looked on at the striking landscape oblivious to her observations.

"Hm..." Turning back around Sakura's toes slowly caressed the cement edge.

"You still didn't answer my question." The man's voice stated unforgivingly.

"Define want..." Sakura answered with her chin straight, not bothering to turn around and look him straight in the eye.

There was another good few minutes of silence, and all that could be heard was the scribbling of his pencils. But the stranger's curiosity was still not satisfied, and he was the first to interrupt the absence of sound.

"You're on the edge."

Annoyed, Sakura turned around and gave him an almost "duh" look. As his eyes met up with her's her head bowed a bit and her eyes narrowed.

"I am the edge."

"mmm..." He observed.

His curiosity was seemingly satisfied as he revealed from his parka a box of oil pastels; using them to bring color and life to his otherwise flat drawing.

At this point Sakura's body had begun to grow numb as the cold temperature started to seep in. Letting out a shiver as a brisk wind passed by, her fair skind burned, revealed by the light kimono she wore. Sakura began regretting her choice of clothing, but then remembered that she hadn't expected it to take this long. Or have an audience for that matter.

"Are you cold?" The man asked, though it sounded more like a statement.

"Hm.." Sakura let out a grunt.

"I'm guessing that is a yes."

Sakura stared back down at the frozen river. She had already made up her mind.

Nothing was going to stop her, especially some nosy outsider.

Letting out a sigh of dejection she knew it was now or never.

"Do you plan on jumping?" If Sakura had a kunai in her at that moment, she would have impaled the man.

"Maybe..." Sakura kept her eyes focused on the frozen channel below.

"Mmm..." He continued to color in his picture, with his now pastel stained hands.

Sakura's lips pursed open. She wanted to say something. A last word, a final farewell, a simple cry, but something was stopping her. The man...

"You're not going to stop me?" Sakura asked, stunned by his lack of compassion for such an otherwise depressing situation. It was almost as if he didn't care.

"No. Unless you want to be stopped. And before you jump, what color would you consider the river?"

He couldn't be serious. Was he? Turning around fully, Sakura stepped off the ledge and let her bare feet meet the pavement of the bridge.

"Gray..." She answered dryly.

"That's what I thought originally." A grin slowly crept it's way across his face as he put his finishing touches on the picture.

Sakura just stood in place as she watched from the man on other side of the bridge flipping shut his book and sighing.

"Oh, you're still here. I guess the reason wasn't good enough."

"What reason?" Sakura was now really ticked off.

"Why you wanted to give up your own life. I'm not saying that I am here to judge, but for someone as beautiful and lucky as you to go and throw something so precious away like that, well you must have been through hell."

At that moment something finally had reached Sakura. Her cold demeanor softened as she stepped closer to the man.

Sakura took a deep breathe, attempting to hide the raspiness in her voice caused only by weeks of crying. "Thank you..."

The man at this point looked up, and took a good look at Sakura. He seemed a bit confused by her statement, judging by the expression on his face.

"For causing you to reconsider taking your own life? Well it was my pleasure."

Sakura shook her head and paused. "No...that was the last thing _he_ told me before stepping out of my life..."

The man's otherwise temperamental expression showed a bit of warmth as Sakura bowed her head and softly cried.

"Oh, I see..."

Sakura sniffled and looked up at the man, revealing her now puffy, red eyes.

"You know, you don't need a man in your life to validate you existence."

"No, you don't understand, it wasn't like that." Sakura turned back around and headed towards the ledge, but stopped and leaned her arms on the metal support beam.

"I understand that deep down inside, something is hurting you. And whatever _he_ may have done to you has caused this pain. And maybe all this time you have been lying to yourself, putting on the happy facade to the people around you, bottling up this hurt inside. I may not be from around here, but I know of the almost inhuman vow shinobi are forced to make - you must posses a heart that never shows tears. Is this just your attempt at a cry for help? Do you just want to make the hurt go away?"

Sakura looked up at the man, eyes filled with rage. "You know nothing about the pain I've suffered through! Things I have witnessed, the emotions I have suppress deep inside. The numbness that comes with this way of life."

"I never said I did. I'm just stating what is visible to me. And what I see is one heavily broken young woman looking for a temporary mend. And trust me, your way isn't the answer."

Sakura took her hand off the metal beam and felt the sudden urge for a cold shower. His words made her feel dirty - filthy for attempting such a mortal sin. And she had to admit, he was right about one thing, in the long-run jumping off a bridge isn't going to solve anything.

"Do you think...that's it's possible? Will the numbness ever go away?" Sakura looked up at him with her wide jade eyes.

"Maybe, if you have the right attitude."

Sakura smiled. She couldn't help it. The Pandora's box opened a long time ago, yet it seemed she only recently discovered hope.

"Would it be improper if I asked for your name?" The man asked her politely as possible.

Sakura almost blurted her name out on impulse, but made a pregnant pause. Would it be wise to tell him her name? What if he is some high ranking official and would inform Tsunade of her act? What if he is some weird stalker? Sakura met her eyes with his once more. By then she just stopped thinking and ignored her instincts. After all, they're the reason she is on this bridge in the first place?

"Haruno...Haruno, Sakura." Sakura struggled to pronounce her name, and it came out

like a squeak.

"Sakura, cherry blossom. Suits you."

Sakura winced. She hated being called that. Yeah, her parents were real clever. 'Since she has pink hair let's name her Sakura!' She stopped counting how many times she has come close to rinsing her almost magenta mane with peroxide.

"Such a beautiful flower, yet so fragile..." His voice stated smoothly.

"I'm not that defenseless..." Sakura smirked and showed a hint of enthusiasm in her voice.

"Well Miss Haruno, I never said you were." Sakura flinched at the use of foreign honorifics. As if his accent, appearance, and attitude weren't dead giveaways, Sakura, at that moment, realized just how far this man came from.

Sakura paused for a moment. "Is everyone from Konoha...this blind?" That was the only way Sakura could put her thoughts into words, describing her feelings was never one of her specialties.

"Define blind..." Sakura let out a grimace. Now he was just being obnoxious!

"I should be going." Sakura turned around and started to head towards the beginning of the bridge, and the forest that stood behind it.

"Wait." The man ran up towards Sakura, and intertwined her delicate fingers with his. "Miss Haruno, I want you to have this." Pulling out his sketchbook, he handed it over to the slightly perplexed Sakura.

"Um, thank you?" This was one of those rare moments when Sakura was truly speechless. Clenching the spiral bound book in her hands; to Sakura, it might as well have been the Ten Commandments.

"Tell yourself what you need to sleep peacefully at night, but promise me you will fill this book with the truth. The images, emotions that you must hide. Express yourself."

Sakura pulled the sketchbook into a close embrace. "I promise.."

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"How else would I fall asleep at night?" Sakura's eyes narrowed as she performed a quick hand seal.

"Now you don't seriously expect that to harm me?" The ninja said in a mocking tone, right before the genjutsu even took effect.

"Now you don't _seriously_ expect to intimidate me?" Sakura jumped up making sure she wasn't caught up in her own illusion.

The truth was, Sakura wasn't even sure if the illusion was going to work at all, and just performed the handseal on impulse. It was a simple genjutsu trick she had picked up from Kurenai, and never thought about using it in combat. Then again, for the past couple of weeks, it felt like she hadn't been thinking at all.

"Gotcha!" Sakura stuck out her tongue, a whimsical little habit she developed as a child.

"Bzzz...Sakura-sempai, are you alright..bzzz.." Sakura listened to the transmission from her headset.

"Yeah, everything's under control." Sakura replied, observing her genjutsu's effect from the safe distant of a tree.

Sighing with relief, Sakura leaned her back up against the bark of the tree. "I guess I really have improved. And to think, all of the trouble I dealt with just to convince Tsunade that I was in good enough condition to go..." Sakura stopped her sentence when she noticed the accumulation of blood on her ANBU uniform.

"Shit!" Sakura thought aloud; loud enough to be heard over the headset.

"What's wrong?" One of her concerned teamates asked.

"I'm...not sure. I'm bleeding." Sakura tried not to sound panicked. The last thing she needed was for her team to know everything wasn't under control.

"Try to stay calm. We're coming to get you." The voice on the other end stated.

Sakura felt queasy. Maybe it was the sight of blood. Maybe it was the lose of blood. Or the thought of another forced sabbatical.

Drifting into a blood-loss induced slumber, Sakura sat back and swung her foot off the edge of the branch. Looking up at the sky she asked herself one, and maybe final, question.

"Am I still on the edge?"

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June 19th – A/N:

Wow, this story is a lot better after I edited it. Hehe, I couldn't have done any-of this without everyone's support - Sunny


	2. Mistaken Allusion

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do I own any of the other copyrighted things or characters I have mentioned in my story.

(Re-edited, re-written, 4-2-06)

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Chapter Two: Mistaken Allusion

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Pulling her kimono tighter, Sakura took a deep breath as she leaned up against her favorite park bench. Two weeks had gone by since her dubbed 'ANBU' incident, and Sakura was finding it a bit difficult to adjust back to her lazy sabbatical lifestyle.

Not that Sakura went without punishment for her stunt. Tsunade was furious. Not only was she mad at Sakura for risking her life by lying about her condition, but Sakura also put her teamate's lives in jeopardy as well. Tsunade make sure Sakura wasn't going to attend a mission, A or D, for a long time.

As bits of sunlight seeped through the nearby apple tree's branches, Sakura's thoughts drifted back to her main intent for coming to the park in the first place; to sketch the infamous "Lady in Red". And just like every Wednesday before, a woman dressed in an elegant crimson robe graced her presence in the park. Asshe watched the "Lady in Red" solemnly glide towards the park's small man-made lake,Sakura clenched her fists in anticipation.

Reaching into her bag, Sakura took and her sketch-pad and art supplies; delicately placing each article on her lap. Flipping through the book looking for a clean piece of paper, Sakura paused for a moment as she came across 'the' picture. Even if it was two years ago, Sakura still remembered the events on the bridge vividly.

Eventually coming across a clean sheet, Sakura opened her tin of watercolor pencils. After receiving the book Sakura experimented with various styles, but watercolor quickly became her favorite medium.

"Good Morning."

Looking up, Sakura was startled when she locked eyes with a small, emaciated girl. Her collar bone stuck out from her chest and her pale blonde hair was in desperate need of taming. Pitying the girl, Sakura reached back into her bag, looking for some food to spare.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" The girl leaned her scrawny figure up against the nearby apple tree, crossing her fragile, twig like arms.

"Yeah, " Sakura answered, not sure how else to respond.

Suddenly the peasant girl's eyes drooped a bit. "Her fiancé went out on an A rank mission about five years ago. He proposed the night before the mission. Only four people from his squad made it back to Konoha."

Sakura looked down at the sketchbook on her lap.

"That's..terrible."

"She comes to this park and sits on that bench by the lake every Wednesday morning. They met there when she was fourteen on a Wednesday morning. He was on a D rank, she was out for an early stroll. She still remembers the expression on his face after he got someone's cat out of this very tree." The girl's sapphire eyes sparkled a bit as she looked up into the tree's branches.

Sakura was stunned. Even though she was aware of the fact that not every ninja that leaves Konoha's gates is going to make it back,Sakura had never heard of a story of someone's sorrow with such excruciating detail. It's almost as if the peasant girl witnessed the whole scene unfold.

"So...she comes here every Wednesday and waits?" Sakura looked over at the woman who sat somberly on the park bench a few yards away. Sakura remembered when she first witnessed the "Lady in Red."

Whenher sickness first began, the only timeSakura'shead seemed clear was during the crack of dawn or in the early evening twilight. While taking walks during the early morning, Sakura soon became aware of the "Lady in Red's" somewhat ritual.

"U-huh." The girl spoke with confidence in her voice, contradicting her petite and fragile appearance.

"She needs to move on. So what, they were in love. He died. Oh well, life goes on. Talking about life, she needs to get one; and boyfriend while she's at it," Sakura snapped.

The peasant girl turned to Sakura and met her innocent sapphire eyes with Sakura's jade ones. (1) "Absit invidia; No offence intended, but isn't that strong words from someone who still has coping issues to deal with herself?"

Sakura raised her eyebrow. Did that kid just quote Latin? The otherwise innocent looking peasant girl definitely knew more than she let on. But there was something else that also struck Sakura wrong.

How did she know about...him?

Sakura gave the girl a second look. She must have picked an apple from the tree while Sakura was thinking becausethegirlwas now gnawing on a large red macintosh.

She noticed Sakura eyeing her and took the apple out of her mouth, holding it inches away from her lips.

"You know sometimes there is more important things in life than having a 'someone'."

Sakura couldn't believe her ears. This girl was so young, yet she spoke with such confidence and moxy. Sakura could debate whether she had more wisdom the Tsunade.

"You're what? Eight? Go back to the Academy. How can you even identify with the pain caused by a heartache? You speak strong words for someone who never experienced a loss of love..." Sakura chocked out. The nerve of the young girl.

The peasant girl dropped the apple she held in her hand. "I'm fourteen. I don't attend the Academy nor have I ever. I'm too sickly to be a ninja. And for never experiencing the pain of lost of love...oh I've experienced the kind of pain you couldn't even imagine. By the way, I wouldn't consider 'thank-you' anywhere near the caliber of 'true love'. Loss of lust is more like it."

Sakura's jaw dropped. There was no way she could have known that. She watched as the girl's eyes wandered up into the sky.

"I should be going. I hope to see you around town 'Miss Sakura Haruno'."

The girl turned around and headed towards the park's gates without checking Sakura's reaction. Sakura never told the girl her name. And no-one has referred to Sakura with those foreign honorifics since that day on the bridge...

Sakura's early morning confrontation left her with one final question.

"Who is she?"

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(1).The girl I introduced into the story likes to quote Latin, and what she said was 'no offence' in Latin.

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A/N:

Um, thank-you Rhonda 91 for reviewing. (I would appreciate more reviews)


	3. True Intentions

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material mentioned in this fic.

Chapter Three: True Intentions

(Re-written, Re-edited, 4-2-06)

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"This can't be possible! These numbers just don't add up!" Flipping through the file once more, the frustrated Hokage threw the manila folder across the room; causing papers to spew about.

"Tsunade..." Shizune, Tsunade's apprentice, attempted to calm her superior down. Her efforts was seemingly ignored, as the furious Hokage pushed her way out of the office.

"Shizune! Find me Shaw, NOW!" Shizune nodded timidly as she went to fetch an address book.

Of all of the years she had spent with Tsunade, Shizune was well aware of the moments when it would be wise avoid her. And now was definitely one of those times.

"When I'm through with him, he's gonna wish he was never born!" Tsunade shouted in the hall as Shizune smiled to herself while flipped to the 'S' section of the white pages.

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Reaching into her pocket, Sakura pulled out a latch with various keys attached to the loop. Identifying the one she needed, Sakura inserted it into the lock. Nudging the door open, she stepped into the foyer, taking off her shoes out of respect.

Making her way toward's Ino's stained glass Tiffany lamp, Sakura pauses to admire it's beauty before flicking on the switch. "Ino, she always knew how to appreciate the finer things in life." Rolling her eyes, Sakura takes off her jacket and throws it onto the white leather couch; adding some disorder to the otherwise well kept loft.

Now, to get to work.

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"I hate watering her plants."

Sakura frowned inwardly, knowing that this simple task was one of the only things left to give her a purpose in life.

Ino was gone.

Six months ago she did what Sakura yearned for the courage to attempt; Ino simple got up and left. There were no-goodbyes, but Sakura was grateful for that, in her condition she couldn't bear with that kind of anguish.

All Ino left her was a direct to the point note.

'_Leaving tomorrow. Take care of my plants while I am away, love Ino.'_

It took Sakura a few weeks to realize that it wasn't just a mission. _They _weren't planing on telling her of Ino's permanent departure. But the buzz around town was inevitable.

Sakura may have been sick, but not delusional enough to not catch the drift.

"The geraniums are blooming," Sakura said tonelessly as she poured the blue "Miracle Grow" into the ceramic pot. Placing the watering can onto the counter, Sakura looked out the window for a moment.

"I miss her. I miss her and I miss _him_..."

"If it makes you feel any better I've missed you as well." Sakura jumped back startled, accidently knocking down the watering can and spilling it's blue contents onto the marble floor.

"How did you get in here?" Taking a towel off the oven's handle, Sakura began to wipe up the mess.

The girl did not speak, simply smiling at Sakura.

"This isn't funny! You're breaking and entering! In fact,_ who_ are you anyway?" Sakura wasn't in the mood to deal with this little puff of enigma.

She wanted some answers. NOW.

"He's cute..." With one hand on her boney hip, the girl eyes a photo of Sakura and the rest of her genin class, more importantly, Sasuke.

Picking up the frame the girl's eyes widened, almost as if she was taking in information.

"He suffered through so much. Like you." Placing the frame down, the girl leaned her body against the couch.

"Well you know what they say, (1)Tempus omnia sed memorias privat; time deprives all but memories."

"What are you?" The question slipped Sakura's lips, as she lost control of her sanity once more.

The girl shook her head. "Some people can feel memories. Maybe I'm one of them."

Sakura wasn't sure what to make of that information; she was more concerned with getting the giant blue stain off Ino's kitchen tile. By the time Sakura looked up from the floor, the girl was gone.

Maybe she left the same way she came in, Sakura theorized.

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"Shaw!" Tsunade grinded her teeth as the man nonchalantly stood in front of the Godaime.

"Like I said before, you took it to yourself to terminate 'Root' and I took it to myself to restrict the amount and quality of missions being assigned to Konoha." He kept his voice coo and collected, as if he was oblivious to the woman simmering with rage before him.

"I'm going to kill you!" The man rolled his eyes. "No, you are not. It's not like you shouldn't have been expecting this, we 'had' a deal."

"It's not like I 'wanted' to terminate the team. They were Konoha's best. But things were getting out of control. The powers were shifting. As Hokage I have the right to make decisions on what I think is best for Konoha."

"Godaime, were you ever told that you are a bad decision maker?" That's it, Tsunade told herself. She wasn't going to take this.

"You son of a, urgh! You have no right to restrict Konoha missions. This is blackmail. Are you aware of the effects this may have on 'our' village!"

"I am very well aware. And I have every right to restrict the mission to, as you may put it, 'our' village. As I said before, we 'had' a deal."

"I should have you killed. I can have you killed. Even better, I can kill you." Tsunade was furious, not to mention for the first time in awhile, scared. If the village was restricted missions, there would be utter chaos plus a major loss in funds.

"I took it to myself for my company to re-distribute the missions it would have reserved for Konoha to the other villages. Konoha had it's chance to flourish, now let the others. Or maybe you just can't face the fact that your does not hold the monopoly it once held on the 'ninja' market."

"Shaw, you're sick. You are single-handedly destroying Konoha. What about the families here? You have a family, what if it was them?" Tsunade pleaded.

"Hm, my daughter isn't a ninja. So how would this apply to me again?" He was taunting her.

"I'm begging you, please, not for me, for the people." Tsunade was desperate.

"Now this is just pathetic. I just can't stand to see someone as powerful as you beg. Now don't get all down on your knees about it."

Reaching down, Shaw pulled out a stack of papers from his briefcase.

"8 B-rank, 4 A-rank." C and D will still be given to the village, but I'm going to restrict all of the higher missions."

Tsunade bit her lip, wanting to protest, but knowing that there was nothing more she could possibly do.

"The citizens of Konoha have no idea how lucky they are for having a Hokage like you."

Tsunade nodded as the men hand her the papers. "About Root, I'll try my best." Shaw soon exited the room, but the tension still remained.

The truth is, Tsunade has no intentions of re-establishing Root, but she isn't going to let him know that.

Or at least not until everything gets sorted out.

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A/N:

Shaw is based off (err, ripped off) of Shinobi Shaw, Hellfire Club ninja dude.

And for all of you pondering the 'peasant girl's' identity, read between the lines, I gave her identity away.

Thanks for all the support!


	4. Lost Within Myself

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own any of the other copyrighted things/people etc. I may have mentioned in my story.

(Re-edited, Re-written, 4-2-06)

Chapter Four: Lost within Myself

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Running through the Uchiha district Sakura found herself slowly losing touch with reality.

Observing her surroundings Sakura realized that the night was unseasonably hazy causing the moon to be barely visible.

Sakura had no idea why she was running, and the Uchiha district of all places. No, wait, she did know. "That song..." A sober melody drifted through the air, almost blending in with the night itself.

"Sasuke used to play that...on his flute." Sakura subconsciously followed the tune, bringing herself further into the depths of the Uchiha complex.

"Where am I?" Sakura asked herself, even though she was well aware of the answer. She had lived in Konoha all of her life, and yet Sakura had never been to such a dreary place behind the village's walls.

Slowing down a bit Sakura soon realized that the music had come to a halt and looked around as if she had been under some sort of trance.

"Of all the places to run to at 3 am, it had to be a cemetery." Tightening her windbreaker Sakura maneuvered her way around an endless maze of graves, all with the sur-name Uchiha. "Sasuke, this was his family..."

Then the melody started again. "Hello?" Sakura shouted into the oblivion. A few minutes passed by with no response. Sakura was about to give up and walk back home when she noticed something. A dim, almost unnoticeable light coming from one of the larger headstones.

Without even thinking Sakura ran over to the light, which she soon found out was being given off by a candle. And it was scented Vanilla too.

"That's weird." Sakura leant down and observed the candle, and soon identified the grave it was placed in front of.

"Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto. Wait, I know them. They are _his_ parents. Which can only mean..."

Sakura got up and looked around. She was positive he was here. No, wait, he was here, she just knew it.

"Sasuke! Sasuke it's me! Sakura! Please, come back!" Sakura ran a few yards and looked around. "Please, Sasuke, I..." She hesitated for a minute, not sure if she wanted to throw the 'I love you' phrase into the sentence.

Sakura looked around. No-one was in the cemetery,well no-one but herself. Sakura sighed, knowing she was just making herself sick again. And it could be debatable that she was developing mild schizophrenia, thus she convinced herself that she was hearing the flute.

Collapsing to the ground Sakura clenched her knees tightly, trembling on the verge of tears. She looked back up at Sasuke's parent's gravestones and struggled to read the inscription with her teary eyes.

"(2)Tu fui, ego eris?" _Latin. _Sakura's mind shifted back to the peasant girl for a moment, but her thoughts were quickly interrupted by the same melancholy song that had been taunting her for the past hour or so.

Turning around slowly Sakura's mind raced with adrenaline as she soon came face to face with a tall, prominent young woman. In her left hand wielded a flute. Wait, not any flute, _his_ flute.

"Who are you!" Sakura asked viciously, trying to piece together the events that had unfolded.

"What you are, I was, and what I am, you will be." The woman answered coldly as she kept her clear eyes fixated on Sakura; as if she was peering into her soul.

"What the hell?" Sakura clenched her hands together tightly, not in the mood for this cryptic 'shit'.

"I translated the inscription on the grave for you." The woman now pulled the flute back up to her lips, and continued to play the tune Sakura once listened to long ago.

Sakura nodded slightly and looked up at the woman. Her mind was racing, "You know where Sasuke is, don't you?"She just _had_ to know. There were too many coincidences. The song, the gravestone, everything.

The woman stopped playing the flute and put it down to her side. "Sakura dear, are you so lost in grief that you are resorting to making up stories? Tch tch, I'd expected better from you."

Something caught Sakura off guard. 'Wait a second, what did she just call me?' Sakura looked up at the woman, more determined than ever. "What do you want from me?"

"I particularly don't want anything from you, I'm just here to deliver a message." The woman's clear eyes wandered for a second, but soon focused back on Sakura.

"Tell me!"

Pausing for a moment, the woman raised the flute up to her shimmering lips.

"No. How about I show you?"

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Hoc natura est insitum, ut quem timueris, hunc semper oderis."

_Huh?_

Sasuke stopped playing his flute and looked up, annoyed at the soft, yet confident voice that had interrupted his song.

_Oh, it's her. _

It was the frail, skeletal girl who seemed to be drowning in her own clothes. Sasuke had observed her around Oto before, wondering what the sickly girl could possibly do in Orochimaru's organization. He'd figured she was an experiment of some sort, and a failed one at that.

"What did you just say?"

The girl smirked, and stepped closer towards him. "It's an innate thing to always hate the one we've learnt to fear."

Her wide blue orbs scanned his features, but settled on the small flute clenched in his left hand.

"I like your song. It's sad." The girl looked down towards the ground, digging her discolored nails into her thighs. Bringing her head back up she revealed a contradicting smile. Sasuke was beginning to get the feeling she was one of Oto's many schizos.

"Shouldn't you be training?" Sasuke wanted her to go away. And fast.

"For what?" Her innocent, naive eyes burned through Sasuke's heart and soul. He just couldn't figure out why a girl like her was in Orochimaru's grasp. She could posses some rare bloodline limit. Though if she did posses some powerful kekkei genaki he would expect his _sensei_ to inform him about it.

Then again if his sensei really had enough time for him then he wouldn't be sitting around playing the flute all day, would he?

"I would assume you are a sound-nin. This isn't a village full of civilians like Konoha." The girl let out a perplexed expression, shifting back a bit.

"You mean a ninja? Nawh, I'm took sickly to do that. Besides, my dad said fighting is too dangerous."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

The girl let out a childish giggle. "Oh no, not for me, but for the person I'd be fighting."

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A/N:

I combined this with Chapter 5 and removed the Interlude. (Part of my re-writing this story plan) Any suggestions or constructive criticism PM me.


	5. Morning After

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any other copyrighted things I mentioned

Chapter Five: Morning After

(Edited 6/19/06)

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Morning dew glazed the meadow Sakura's body was sprawled upon as the unpleasant damp sensation slowly aligned her mind with her body.

"Good morning sunshine, the earth says hello." It didn't take long for Sakura to registered the familiar timbre of the peasant girl's voice, something she was not necessarily hoping to deal with so early in the morn.

"Urgh...I have the strange feeling this isn't my duvet..." Moaning, Sakura rolled over onto her side, attempting to delay the inevitable.

"Hehe, don't worry Miss Haruno, this moment never happened." The peasant girl gave Sakura a wink, but it was hidden behind strands of her unruly hair.

"You make it seem as if I got tipsy and passed out on the grass." Sakura sat up herself up to reveal her own impish grin. Once the girl saw Sakura's smile her own faded.

"You're gonna get sick, well sicker, if you stay out her any longer. It's only 40 degrees." The girl spoke with to Sakura with a concerned tone.

"Wait, I thought I was the top-notch medical nin around here? And when was forty degrees bad?" Rolling her eyes the peasant girl let out a sigh of frustration. "Fahrenheit, Forty degrees Fahrenheit."

"Oh." At that moment Sakura wrapped her arms around her body as she involuntarily shivered, her mind was finally awake enough to realize just how cold it was.

"Let me help you..." The girl approached Sakura gingerly, but Sakura jerked her hand back; memories of last night's meeting fresh in her head.

"You think this is some sort of game? Well it's not funny. Go back to wherever you belong, don't make me get the Hokage on you." Sakura somehow felt guilty snapping at the small, delicate girl; after all for all Sakura knew she was just seeing things again, but something about last night seemed so...real.

"I won't deny you the truth, I'm not like that, but who said I couldn't delay it?" And with that Sakura dropped to the ground, while the peasant girl's sapphire eyes no longer glistened with innocence, but glowed a soft menacing white.

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Burying her face deeper into the pillows, Sakura took a whiff of the fresh linens. The warm home-like feeling slowly ate away at the inner chill caused by spending the evening curled up outside in a field.

Wait, wasn't she supposed to be outside?

Lurching out from under the sheets Sakura frantically took a look at the unfamiliar surroundings.

Had she been kidnapped? Did she get drunk? Whose bed was she in?

Or more importantly did she...

Checking her body for damages or any missing articles of clothing, she sighed with relief and fell back into the comfy down-feather mountain of pillows.

Sitting up after a bout of ecstasy, Sakura gave the room she was in a more detailed observation.

The furniture itself was regal and antique, more suited for admiring than actually using; like Ino's prized lamp.

At first glance at the walls one would think they were covered with frilly flower print wallpaper, but after close inspection one would realize that the floral pattern was not wallpaper,and in fact the designs were individually hand painted onto the wall.

On the left side of the bed was a large elegant bookcase, stretching from the floor to the ceiling, which was about 8 feet. On the right side of the bed was a bureau, which aside from the bed was the largest piece of furniture in the room.

Leaning over onto her side Sakura noticed a note left on the nightstand, along with a porcelain teacup and saucer.

Squinting her eyes in attempts to read the almost foreign calligraphy, Sakura interpreted the note.

"_Make yourself at home, I left you a drink to warm yourself up.."_

Haphazardly picking up the teacup, Sakura looked down at her reflection into what she hoped was tea. Slowly bringing the cup to her mouth she took a small sip and let the liquid linger her mouth.

"Yuck!" Spitting the content back into the cup, Sakura almost spilled the drink onto her monogram robe.

Wait a second, she didn't own a monogram robe.

Admiring the red silk robe covering her light and still damp kimono, Sakura couldn't help but notice the S initial embroided over the right breast. Maybe this was some sort of dream? A dream room resulting from her deranged mind.

Sakura turned onto her back restlessly. She was never the type of person who could sit still in bed. She needed to get out.

Stepping out of the bed, her feet were almost instantly greeted by a pair of slippers, and not just the fuzzy kind, the fleece lined ones that cost money.

Slowly making her way towards the door, Sakura stopped and admired the large bookcase.

Randomly taking a book from the shelf, Sakura flipped open a page only to be greeted by the foreign Greek alphabet. Putting the book back Sakura took another, except this time instead of being written in Greek, it was the elegant dash symbols of Arabic. Sakura never read anything besides kangi, let alone known another language. For a ninja, well former ninja, Sakura was far from the worldly type.

Gracefully moving her hand across the spines of the books, only one was in fact written in Kangi.

"The Six Orders of The Hand..." Sakura recognized the book. She had seen it before in Tsunade's library, it was supposed to list the physiological teachings of an ancient ninja society, one that is rumored to still exist today. Pretty deep stuff.

"Fifth Order, Seek the Darkness and be Silent" Rolling her eyes, Sakura shut the book and placed it back on the shelf. If she had the time or patience she would have sifted through the whole shelf, but then again Sakura was never the reading type.

"I see you made yourself at home." Sakura looked behind her, instantly recognizing the never failing to amuse peasant girl.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura's question sounded more like an eager statement, and meant more along the lines of, 'What am I doing here?'.

The peasant girl flashed Sakura an innocent smile. "I live here."

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A/N:

Wow, that's for all the reviews! I am re-writing most of this, and hopefully the next chapter will be out soon!

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	6. Last Person You'd Expect

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of the copyrighted things I mentioned, etc...

Chapter Six: Last Person You Expect

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"Wait, so this is your home?" Sakura looked down at the girl with her mouth wide open.

"Yeah, that's usually how it works when you live somewhere." A satirical tone edged the girl's words as she took one of the books out from the shelf.

"Electra. It's a Greek play, one of my favorites. Do you speak Greek?" Shaking her head, Sakura looked back down at the girl.

"Um, I, uh, well no." The girl smiled. "I see. I never really got the hang of speaking it out-loud, but at least with reading books I can take my own time. Latin is more of my thing."

Sakura wasn't sure if the girl was attempting to impress her, but no matter what the girl's intentions were, she was doing a damn good job of making Sakura gape in awe. "So, did you ever read A Thousand and One Arabian Nights? I was a bit tenacious about it at first, but as I started to get into the story I couldn't stop." Sakura giggled nervously. "Like I said before, I'm not really a reader, well, besides medical journals and stuff."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Come on, you have to have read something recently." Sakura racked her brain attempting to think of a book. She wasn't going to be outsmarted by a fourteen year old.

"Ever hear of Make Out Paradise?" The girl rolled her eyes. "How about we change the subject. There's a bathroom across the hall, you can freshen up if you want. I mean, you did fall asleep outside." Sakura nodded. Though usually not the first to jump out an accept an invitation to bathe in a strangers home, she was intrigued.

Following the not so peasant girl out into the hall, Sakura clenched her jaw tight just to prevent drool. Stained glass skylights added a rainbow of color to the high-ceilinged hallway, which were already lined with various framed artworks. Ignoring the urge to examine an impressionism that look to be an actual Renoir, Sakura anxiously trailed behind the girl, only to stop when they reached a large corridor.

"This is the master suite, there's a bathroom through those double doors." Nodding to the girl's instructions, Sakura stepped into the room and headed for the large French doors the girl had pointed out.

Though not one for snooping, Sakura couldn't help but eye the ornate picture-frame that sat on the mahogany vanity as she made her way to the bathroom. Stopping to admire the picture, Sakura could've sworn she'd seen the chocolate eyed woman posing in the photo before.

"She's my mother," The girl stated solemnly. Huh? Putting the frame down, Sakura couldn't help but feel guilty. "I'm sorry if I am being rude, but she's gorgeous." The girl nodded. "She's dead,"

So that explains why the girl has no-one to take care of her; Sakura though.

"Do you miss her?" The girl looked up at Sakura with glazed eyes, and Sakura quickly regretted asking the question.

"No," she replied coldly. Now that was odd.

"Does your father?" The girl shook her head again. "Why would he? After all, he's the one who killed her."

Suddenly Sakura felt the urge to leave the house. Immediately. "Your father wouldn't be home right now, would he?"

The girl's eyes widened. "Is he?" Sakura's voice quivered.

Run on one...two... Within seconds Sakura's feet were pumping; racing through the endless labyrinth of halls and doorways inside the estate.

Sakura needed to get out. NOW.

How could she be so blind? It was obvious that the girl was trouble, with a capitol T. After all, she was the only one who trusted Sakura, after, well...everything.

"Finally!" Sakura sighed with relief after spotting a glass sliding door that led out to the garden.

"Oh, I wouldn't be leaving too quickly if I were you..." Spoke a low male voice.

Oh shit... At the doorway stood a tall, pale man in western clothing.

Wait...Sakura knew him. He was the painter that saved her life. And definitely the last person she would expect to end it.

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Wow! Isn't this chapter like something straight out of Dean Koontz? Thanks SOOO much for the support, and keep it up, Sunny. 


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